Marius Ivanauskas is a transformation expert with over 20 years of experience.
It’s a familiar scene in boardrooms across the globe. Performance numbers start to slip, and all eyes turn to strategy. Leadership teams rush to schedule offsite meetings while the company hires prestigious consulting firms and redraws strategic roadmaps.
The assumption is nearly always the same: Our strategy must be flawed. This reaction, however, often misses the real cause: execution.
Execution problems don’t come crashing through the door. They sneak in quietly, like water dripping into a basement you rarely check. Suddenly, you’re knee-deep wondering how it all went unnoticed.
These issues show up in ways we’ve all seen—projects taking forever, goals missed by a mile or employees so frustrated they start looking for the exit. Misaligned teams, conflicting priorities and that awkward silence when you realize the frontline has no idea what leadership’s big plan means—it all adds up to a quiet storm of resistance that’s so hard to stop.
The Role Of Good Execution
The graveyard of failed companies is filled not only with bad strategies but with good strategies poorly executed. Nokia, for example, once dominated the mobile phone market. They had the resources, the technology and even the foresight to see the rise of smartphones. In fact, Nokia developed a touchscreen device years before the iPhone.
Their downfall wasn’t due to a bad strategy alone—it was a combination of factors, but above all, a failure to execute effectively. As explained in Yves Doz and Keeley Wilson’s book, Ringtone: Exploring the Rise and Fall of Nokia in Mobile Phones, slow decision making, organizational structure and resistance to change prevented Nokia from adapting quickly enough to retain its market leadership during the smartphone revolution.
LVMH’s transformation under Bernard Arnault, on the other hand, illustrates the power of superior execution. LVMH has grown from a $15 billion merger into a $500 billion luxury empire, consistently outperforming the broader luxury market through multiple economic cycles. The transformation succeeded because of the thorough execution of straightforward principles, not because of strategic complexity.
When Arnault took control of LVMH, his strategy wasn’t revolutionary: maintaining luxury brand exclusivity while expanding global reach. What set LVMH apart was execution. According to their website, LVMH operates under a decentralized management structure that preserves each brand’s creative autonomy while centralizing manufacturing excellence and distribution efficiency. The company systematically develops internal talent based on the needs of the organization and maintains strict quality control across all brands.
The High Cost Of Misdiagnosis
Misreading execution issues as strategy failures can cost more than just money. It often costs leaders their jobs.
Boards are quick to replace CEOs, thinking a fresh face will fix the problem and win time in front of shareholders. But what they rarely account for is the ripple effect—months of uncertainty as the old CEO’s influence fades, a long search for their replacement and then even more time for the newcomer to settle in. In the meantime, projects stall, and teams lose focus in the waiting mode.
Add it all up, and organizations often face 12 to 18 months of “strategic limbo”—a period where competitors can gain significant ground and employee morale often suffers. This leadership gap is particularly costly in today’s fast-moving business environment, where 18 months of hesitation can mean missing entire market cycles or technological shifts.
The solution? It’s not enough for the board chair to stand up in front of the organization and tell everyone, “Please continue.” It’s also not enough to put someone in charge interim just to “keep the lights on.” Organizations need interim leadership strategies and interim leaders need clear mandates to maintain momentum during these transitions.
The key is ensuring the company keeps moving forward while waiting for the new CEO to find their footing.
The Real Problem
So, how can organizations determine whether they’re facing a strategy problem or an execution challenge? By asking the right questions.
Instead of immediately questioning the strategy, leaders should examine their organization’s execution capabilities. Are people empowered to make decisions? Are those being made at the right speed? Do resources flow efficiently to strategic priorities? How effectively do teams collaborate across functions?
Performance metrics tell an important story, but they need proper interpretation. Declining market share might suggest a strategic problem, but if customer satisfaction remains high and product innovation is strong, the issue likely lies in execution.
Building An Execution-Focused Culture
Sustainable success isn’t about chasing the perfect strategy; it’s about building the kind of team that can turn any solid plan into reality.
Leaders who get this don’t spend all their time sketching out grand ideas in boardrooms. Instead, they’re out there in the organization—reviewing progress, reallocating resources where they are needed most and staying hands-on with the projects that matter. It’s about being a part of the process, not just directing it from afar.
Organizations that excel at execution share certain characteristics. They maintain clear accountability frameworks without creating bureaucracy. They monitor progress regularly but don’t micromanage. Most importantly, they create cultures that celebrate execution excellence as much as strategic insight.
The Next Time Performance Slips
The next time performance metrics start trending in the wrong direction, resist the urge to immediately question your strategy. Instead, take a hard look at execution. Are your teams aligned, empowered and have what they need to be successful? Are you measuring the right things? Are resources properly allocated to strategic priorities?
Often, the answer to better performance lies not in crafting a new strategy but in executing the current one more effectively. After all, as the saying goes, a mediocre strategy well executed often beats a brilliant strategy poorly executed.
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